The report also said that the Ministry has already issued a SoP to all States with clear guidelines regarding deletion and restoration of job cards.
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MOORTHY G
Stressing that genuine beneficiaries under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee (MNREGA) Scheme are not excluded while preventing misuse of job cards, the Standing Committee on Rural Development and Panchayati Raj has asked the government to develop a system that allows manual verification and corrections so that workers are not “unjustly removed” from the flagship programme.
The Committee, headed by Congress MP Saptagiri Sankar Ulaka, has said that such a step will enable the eligible rural households to reap the benefits of the scheme.
It has pointed out that about 50.31 lakh job cards were deleted due to minor spelling errors or mismatches in Aadhar details in 2021-22 and said that the figures have not significantly come down after that and thousands of eligible workers are regularly being denied work under the MGNREGA.
But, according to the Committee’s report placed in Parliament on Thursday, the government has informed the panel that the “job card deletion is not always a permanent deletion.” The panel was informed that in 2021-22, 120.62 lakh job cards were also either resumed or newly issued.
The report also said that the Ministry has already issued a Standard operating Procedure (SoP) to all States with clear guidelines regarding deletion and restoration of job cards. The SoP emphasises the importance of due process, including the publication of draft lists of job cards marked for deletion, verification at Gram Sabhas and the right of appeal for affected workers.
About completion of Kaccha (temporary) work under MGNREGA, the Committee has recommended that once such work is completed, it should be converted into pakka (permanent), wherever necessary to prevent repetitive work cycles and wastage of resources. “Leaving kaccha work incomplete leads to unnecessary duplication of efforts and financial mismanagement,” the panel has noted.
The panel has also suggested that the government raises the work limit to 200 days from current 150 days under the Drought Relief Provision to provide sustainable livelihood options for affected families to help the rural population fight the impact of climate change. Further, it recommended the work limit for Scheduled Tribe beneficiaries of the MNREGA living in forest areas should be extended to 200 days from current from 150 days.
Highlighting that a comprehensive national survey is required to assess the effectiveness of the MNREGA , the panel has recommended an independent and transparent survey be conducted across the country to gain valuable insights about the programme’s shortcomings, so that the necessary policy reforms are introduced. “The survey should focus on worker satisfaction, wage delays, participation trends and financial irregularities,” it said.
Besides reiterating the number of work days to 150 days in a year from current 100 days for all other workers, it said that the Ministry of Rural Development should consider inclusion of disaster relief and climate-resilient activities under the permissible ambit of the MNREGA so that the rural populace too is prepared to meet the challenges posed due to climate change.
“Furthermore, activities such as the construction of protection walls in hilly areas and embankments to mitigate coastal and riverbank erosion should be incorporated into the scope of the MNREGA to enhance disaster resilience and environmental protection in vulnerable regions.” it said while asking the government to raise funding to ₹25 lakh from current ₹10 lakh for construction of embankment in flood-prone areas.
Published on April 3, 2025
